Floor or roof for buildings



(No Model.)

G. W. PARKER. FLOOR 0R ROOF FOR BUILDINGS.

Unire STATES ATENT OFFICE.

GEOR IE XV. PARKER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

FLOOR OR ROOF FOR BUILDINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 477,147, dated J une14, 1892.

Application tiled July l0, 1891. Serial No; 399,076. (No model.)

.To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. PARKER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Construction ofFire-Proof Roofs, Floors, and Ceilings, of which the followingr is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in the construction of floors,ceilings, and roofs for buildings; and it has forits object to produce aWater-tightand fire-proof floor or ceiling or a roof of the samecharacter. It is also applicable to street sidewalks and coverings overvaults and cellars or subways extending under the street. In severalrespects it is an improvement upon the construction of street-pavementsdescribed in the Letters Patent of the United States No. 433,540, whichwere issued to me on the 5th day of August, 1890.

The nature of my said in'iprovements and the manner in which I produceand apply the same to construct a floor, roof, or similar structure ofthe desired character will be fully understood from thefollowingdescription, in which reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings.

Figure l represents a vertical longitudinal section of a floorconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a similarcrosssection of the floor on an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 illustrates asection of Iloor or roof in which glass plates or slabs are substitutedfor the solid concrete filling. Fig. I represents in perspective aportion of a floor, partly in section and in course of construction, andis designed to show the relation of the several parts to one another andthe manner of forming skylights or portions to transmit light.

The nature of these improvements consist in setting T-rails or beams oflike form in an inverted position, so that the flanges form the ceilingsor overhead surface ofthe apartment beneath, the rails or beams beinglaid with their flanges in close contact or at short intervals of spaceapart. S pacin g-blocks placed between the rails and supported by theflanges serve to hold the rails in line and in an upright position, aswell as to stiffen the structure. The flooror top surfaceis completed byfilling in the space between the rails and the spacingblocks with cementor other suitable composition to produce a hard, smooth, and tightsurface. In place of such lling I sometimes set between the rails platesor slabs of thick glass, as where light is to be transmitted through afloor or a roof, and at such parts of the structure the rails are laidwider apart than in those parts where the solid filling is used. In somecases I use spacing-blocks of thefnll height of the web or upright partof the rail, so that the top face of the block comes flush with thesurface, and in some cases, again, I

use shorter blocks and fill them over with cement or with tiles.

A indicates the metal rails or beams with bottom flanges a.

B B are the spacing-blocks, and C is the filling of cement or othersubstance. The rails have broad bottom flanges, either flat or arched,on the bottom face. These faces may be left plain or may be ornamentedin the operation of rolling the rails, if so desired. The edges of theflanges should be set quite closely together where the floor-surface isformed of cement filling; but forskylightsin roofs and light-openings inflooring the distance between the rails is increased. The spacing-blocksshould fit closely between the rails and rest squarely against thebottom flanges. They are made to the full height of the web or standingportion of the rail to set flush with the finished surface. These blocksfurnish suitable nailing-surfaces for layinga temporary or ornamentalflooring of wood over the cement and iron surface. Shorterspacing-blocks are used where the top surface is to'be all cement, asrepresented in Fig. 9, where CX is the filling laid over a shortspacing-block BX.

In forming a section or portion of a flooror a root to transmit lightthe rails are set wider apart to leave open space between the flanges,as shown in Figs. and el., and narrow supports E E. resting on theflanges, are set against the upright bar or web of the rails to formledges for the glass slabs. These pieces E can be made of wood. Theirheight is governed by the thicknessof the slabs which they are to bear,as they should hold the top surface flush with the rails. The jointsbetween the rails and the slabs and supports are cemented or otherwisemade water-tight Where the structure is required to turn Water. All theblocks used in this structure can be made of hard wood withoutmaterially aifectlng or reducing the firceproof qualities ot' thestructure produced, as the blocks are tooY small and are too greatlyisolated to burn even under condition of exposure to great heat. Floorsof buildings constructed in this manner will be re-proof and-thoroughlywater-tight, while at the same time they will be found to possessadvantages over most of the constructions heretofore employed to obtainfire-proof qualities. There is also considerably less weight and lesscost ot material, especially in large spans, as light rails aresubstituted for heavy beams, and the form of the rails and the manner ofspacing and holding them contribute to the strength of the structure. Itwill be obvious thata pitch root` ora curved roof can be formed in thesame manner as an ordinary Hat root by suitably joining the ends of therails along the ridge the same as in framingawooden roof, or by bendingthe rails fora curved or arched roof. The

bottom fianges furnish all the supporting-surface necessary for thefilling between the rails and form the ceiling of the apartment beneath,and with proper support at the end of the rails a flooring of thischaracter can be carried over a span of considerable Width.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is ,Y

l. A roof, floor, or similar structure for buildings, consisting of therails having bottom flanges laid in close relation and in spaced rows,the spacing-blocks, and a filling, of cement or composition, laidbetween the rails and between or over the spacing-blocks, substantiallyas hereinbefore described.

2. In a root', tloorfor similar structure, the combination of the'railshaving bottom fianges and laid in spaced rows and close order, thespacing-blocks, and ailling, of cement or composition, adapted to form ahard water-tight surface, laid in between the rails and between thespacing-blocks, as described, the ianges of the rails forming supportsfor the spacingv blocks and constituting the ceili 11 gof theapartmentbeneath, as hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoingV I have hereunto set my hand andseal.

GEORGE W. PARKER. [L. s]

Witnesses: n Y

EDWARD E. OsBoRN, J. C. SPENCER.

